Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 25 February – 3 March.
From this morning (4 March) Beaumont Road will be closed from Quarry Hollow to Green Road while the County Council instals a new surface water rising main. The closure is scheduled to run until 16 April.
Headington Action (@HeadingtonA) organised a well attended and enthusiastic meeting when it was agreed to go ahead with producing a Neighbourhood Plan for Headington. Cllrs @RuthWilk and @DavidRundle have published a report of the meeting. This is the start of a long process on which I and others will try to keep you up to date.
Two days later a group aiming to help develop an integrated transport strategy for Headington met for the first time. The inaugural meeting was also organised by @HeadingtonA.
The Post Office letterbox in All Saints Road was the object of a possible arson attack last Sunday (24 Feb) although the cause of the small fire is unclear.
Also last Sunday there was a robbery at Threshers off-licence in Cherwell Drive, Marston.
Headington’s Blockbuster store is going to close and will become a Morrison’s supermarket. There are reports too that the owner of the closed Crown and Thistle pub in Old Road may be looking at alternative uses for the building.
Our very own Dee Sinclair, City Councillor for Quarry & Risinghust and candidate for the new Headington and Quarry Division in the County Council elections in May, is to be the next Lord Mayor of Oxford from May this year. Come on Dee! With such a high profile you’ll just have to get that @delia_sinclair twitter account going!
@ThriveBarton‘s work in Barton is the subject of an article in the Newsletter of the Volunteering & International Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It’s on page 5.
A man from Aldbarton Drive, Barton was sentenced to four months jail for dangerous dogs offences. Three people had been attacked and needed hospital treatment.
The two men who were in court on charges of rape in Bury Knowle Park (see original press report) were acquitted.
The City Council’s Sites and Housing Plan was formally adopted on 18 February – the end of a long process. The definitive version is here.
So far only Oxford Civic Society @oxcivicsox has commented on the latest planning applcation for 29 Old High Street. They are broadly supportive. Application ref: 13/00311/FUL.
Lime Walk was closed between London Road and All Saints’ Road for a short time on Friday for emergency water main repairs.
Active topics on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:
- A Neighbourhood Plan for Headington?
- A Lord Mayor on this forum again from May 2013!
- New Lime Walk and All Saints junction “improvements”
- Crown and Thistle
- Spate of burglaries in Headington
- Blockbusters in Headington is closing after all
- Zhen Shan Ren (Truth Compassion Tolerance) Art Exhibition
- Redevelopment of Northway